All the Pieces Matter

What to Do? What to Do?

John Lewis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:50:53 +0000

Morgan Sate University's theater department presents a production of August Wilson's Jitney at the Murphy Fine Arts Center this weekend. And the weekend-long Winter Festival of Wonders kicks off tonight at Station North's Area 405 with a Wizards Ball. The wearing of costumes is encouraged.

It'd also be a good weekend to frequent the Windup Space. Tonight, Lo Moda celebrates the release of a new CD. Tomorrow, members of Lower Dens, Wye Oak, and other indie bands play favorite love songs that encourage slow dancing. There's a buzz about saxophonist Darius Jones, and he's playing the club on Sunday backed by an all-star group that includes pianist Lafayette Gilchrist, bassist Mike Formanek, drummer Eric Kennedy, and saxophonist John Dierker. Wow.

Shodekeh Remixes American Icon!

John Lewis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:44:51 +0000

Last November, I blogged about local beatboxer Shodekeh contributing a track to what appeared to be a promising Meredith Monk remix project, Monk Mix. It boasted contributions from the likes of Bjork, Bang on a Can, Caetano Veloso, DJ Spooky, and Vijay Iyer, all remixing and reinterpreting material from the iconic vocalist. At the time, Shodekeh described the project as "phat, crazy" and said he was working on a version of Monk's classic "Dolmen Music." Well, you can now hear that track, which has been posted on Monk's website along with a handful of other songs. It certainly lives up to Shodekeh's description. And if you're in New York on February 19th, check out the CD release party at Joe's Pub. Monk, Shodekeh, DJ Spooky, and others will perform. I see another Baltimore native, saxophonist Ellery Eskelin—who's featured in our February story on Towson University—will play with John Hollenbeck's group.

Fiddler on the Roof Could Change Your Life

John Lewis — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:56:35 +0000

The classic musical, which comes to the Lyric February 2-4, changed Ira Glass's life and became a template for a certain NPR show. Here's what the This American Life host told us in 2009...

I didn’t see it this way at the time, but, in retrospect, Fiddler on the Roof changed my life. My mom used to take my sisters and me to the musicals at Painters Mill Music Fair, or the Mechanic. Because there are so many Jews in Baltimore, some production of Fiddler on the Roof would come through every year. So I saw Herschel Bernardi, Topol, and other people who didn’t become quite as famous. I might have even seen Zero Mostel in it. The aesthetics of Fiddler on the Roof are really powerful. It's not rarified at all, and it’s designed so that anybody could like it. It’s a character-based drama, with characters you care about. It’s funny at the beginning, but then it feels like it’s about something big, grand, and sad. It totally hooks you in, so you’re kind of stuck, and you’re there for the whole ride.

Looking at the work I’ve done, I've been trying to make stories that have the same feelings I got from Fiddler on the Roof at Painters Mill Music Fair. Until I figured out how to do that, I wasn't happy. It just had an enormous impact on me, in making me understand just how good something could be.

By the way, if you haven't heard the recent This American Life episode about the manufacturing of Apple products in China, you can go here and see what all the fuss is about.

And Ira's uncle Philip celebrated his 75th birthday yesterday.

What to Do? What to Do?

John Lewis — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:52:37 +0000

In the mid-1960s, poet/critic Frank O'Hara and Dutch artist Jan Cremer collaborated on a series of prints that have never been shown in the U.S., until this evening, when Load of Fun opens a month-long show and hosts a reading of O'Hara's poems by Michael Ball, Chris Mason, Chris Toll, David Beaudouin, and Megan McShea. Load of Fun proprietor Sherwin Mark made the original prints for Cremer in Amsterdam back in the day, so that's how this work found its way to Baltimore. The readings begin at 7:30 pm.

Later tonight, Current Gallery hosts a party for the release of Proliferate, the tri-annual zine of new poetry.

Tomorrow, Soulful Symphony, after a year-long hiatus, kicks off its residency at the Hippodrome with a show that includes tributes to Motown and Michael Jackson; the Baltimore Playwrights Festival has its public reading marathon at Spotlighter's Theater with readings scheduled for 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm; and what figures to be an excellent show of Raoul Middleman's work (City Limits) opens at American University.

Sunday, drumming powerhouse Hans Bennink and an all-star band (including bassist Mike Formanek and pianist Lafayette Gilchrist) play Windup Space, the closing party for Crystal Moll's painting show at Silo Point starts at 3 pm, and Art on Purpose winds up its year-long Black Male Identity project with a day-long celebration/event at the Reginald Lewis Museum. The Lewis event, which lasts from noon to 5 pm, is free, open to the public, and includes live music, art activities, raffles, and the opening of the museum's new show, Dandy Lion: Articulating a Re(de)fined Black Masculine Identity.

GBCA Brings Lerman, Shodekeh, Others Onboard

John Lewis — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:48:44 +0000

An intriguing group of artists and administrators has just joined the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance's board of directors. The group includes choreographer/educator/MacArthur grant recipient Liz Lerman, beat-boxer Shodekeh, artist/OSI director of strategic communiications Debra Rubino, executive director of Young Audiences' Maryland chapter Stacie Sanders Evans, Pratt Library communications director Roswell Encina, and CityLit founder Gregg Wilhelm. I'll expect great things from such a dynamic bunch.

What to Do? What to Do?

John Lewis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:34:02 +0000

It hasn't taken new Centerstage artistic director Kwame Kweh-Armah long to make good on promises to A) partner with other theater groups and B) make theater more available to the community at large. For evidence of all this, check out Sunday night's pub reading at Liam Flynn's Ale House in Station North. It features actors from Single Carrot and Everyman reading Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane. It starts at 8 pm, and it's free. And there will be another free reading of a McDonagh play at the pub next Sunday.

Local metal/hardcore label A389 celebrates its eighth anniversary with a huge show at Sonar on Saturday night. Featuring 16 bands on two stages, the night will be a blitz of punk, thrash, death metal, and doom from a label that has released more than 100 albums—as in vinyl records!—since 2004. I'm partial to a shoegaze band, Anne, that records for A389. They won't be playing tomorrow night, but look for a review of their new disc in our February issue. Doors open tomorrow at 4 pm, and the first group goes on at 4:15 pm.

The brilliant and prolific (and onetime Baltimorean) Cass McCombs returns for a show at the Ottobar tomorrow night. McCombs put out not one, but two, of last year's finest discs, so catch him while you can. It's an all ages show with Walker and Jay also on the bill.

Lower Dens, Wye Oak Tapped for ATP

John Lewis — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:26:38 +0000

Two of Baltimore's finest indie rock bands, Lower Dens and Wye Oak, have been tapped by The National to play December's All Tomorrow's Parties fest in England. Curators of this year's festival, The National also chose Kronos Quartet, Owen Pallett, Sharon Van Etten, Megafaun, and Suuns with more selections on the way. And look for the new Lower Dens disc, Nootropics, to drop May 1st.

What to Do? What to Do?

John Lewis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:19:13 +0000

"The Dog Whisperer," Cesar Millan, gives a talk at the Lyric tonight, Itzhak Perlman performs with the BSO at Strathmore, and local metal heroes Charm City Devils play Baltimore Soundstage.

Tomorrow, a memorial service for legendary restaurateur Morris Martick will be held at the Charles Theatre, Perlman and the BSO are at the Meyerhoff, and you might think that just about everything comes to a halt when the Ravens play the Texans. But it's also a great time to visit the BMA, the Walters, or AVAM.

And don't forget that Gleam, based on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, just opened at Centerstage!

What to Do? What to Do?

John Lewis — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:09:32 +0000

Emerging from the holiday haze, you might want to check out bluesman Guy Davis at Brown Memorial Church tonight, or the beginning of Generous Company's intriguing festival, Gumbo, at Theatre Project. The fest includes new theatre pieces, live music, visual art, and, yes, gumbo will be served. Admission is free, but a hat will be passed.

Tomorrow, the Creative Alliance hosts a Balkan Dance Party, the Degenerettes celebrate the release of a new CD at Metro Gallery (Gary Kachadourian did the show poster!!), and there's a benefit for blues singer Ursula Ricks at the Cats Eye Pub in Fells Point.

Local Label Signs Blues Legends

John Lewis — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:54:01 +0000

Annapolis-based Severn Records has signed the Nighthawks, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Mud Morganfield, Muddy Waters's oldest son. Morganfield's CD, Son of the Seventh Son, comes out in March, and new discs by the Hawks and the T-Birds are expected later this year. It's easy to see why Severn will be receiving a "Keeping the Blues Alive Award" from the Blues Music Association. The awards ceremony will be held in Memphis on May 10th. And the Nighthawks play the Creative Alliance on February 24th.